At Heathrow’s Terminal 5, design and luxury soar

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When the terminal opens, it won't just be state of the art. It will be state of the ad. Passengers will be bombarded with giant electronic billboards — not just departure and arrival boards, but 333 billboards and 206 flat-screen TVs used primarily for advertising. That's a staggering number. JFK, for example, only has 40 billboards, and LAX only 34 — in the entire airport! The advertising mavens estimate that passengers in T-5 will see between 50 and 120 ads as they make their way through the terminal and onto their flights.

Baggage transfers — at least in theory — will be fast and seamless, with no winding, ugly conveyor belts (although there are 11 miles of belts, but designed in a way to take bags directly to planes). Instead, 100 baggage desks are in the departures building so passengers can drop off bags and head directly to gates. And the departures area is loaded with nearly 100 kiosks.

Other perks: six different departures lounges. There's even an Elemis day spa.

As with most airports — but especially this one — it's hard to tell if the designers want you to spend time in the building or leave quickly. Other than lounge areas, it's hard to find a lot of terminal seating. The reason? Designers feel that once passengers enter the departures area, they won't need to sit. They'll just check in at a kiosk, drop off their bags and head directly through security.

That is, of course, until there's an electronic failure, bad weather or a traffic jam on the roads leading to the terminal. Otherwise known as ... real-life scenarios.

Still, there are some design features that are really welcome. A 600-room Sofitel hotel is about to open near T-5, directly linked to the main building.

You can take the Heathrow express train right to Terminal 5, and then an underground track system to two of the satellite buildings of T-5. And the underground track system — which can move more than 6,500 passengers an hour — makes for easier movement of airplanes from jetways to runways.

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Which brings me to the subject of runways. For years, there's been talk of adding a third runway at Heathrow to alleviate all the ground congestion and taxiway delays. If you think 18 years is a long time to wait for Terminal 5, we all may be waiting longer for that third runway.

Will the delays at Heathrow be reduced? Probably not. So, in terminal terms, it may be style over substance, experience over expedience.

So, for the moment, once Terminal 5 opens, at least we can spend our time waiting in comfortable lounges, shopping at Tiffany and eating well. And let's not forget the facials or the hand, arm and back massages at the spa. We may need them!

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At Heathrow’s Terminal 5, design and luxury soar